The Hunt for New Physics at the Large Hadron Collider

TL;DR

The paper discusses the potential of the Large Hadron Collider to explore new physics phenomena beyond the Standard Model, including dark matter, supersymmetry, extra dimensions, and string theories, through various experimental avenues.

Contribution

It provides an overview of the theoretical ideas and experimental strategies for testing new physics at the LHC, serving as a guide for future research and analysis.

Findings

LHC can probe hidden sectors and new particles beyond the Standard Model.

Precise measurements of top quark properties can reveal new physics.

LHC data will critically test theories like supersymmetry, extra dimensions, and string models.

Abstract

The Large Hadron Collider presents an unprecedented opportunity to probe the realm of new physics in the TeV region and shed light on some of the core unresolved issues of particle physics. These include the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking, the origin of mass, the possible constituent of cold dark matter, new sources of CP violation needed to explain the baryon excess in the universe, the possible existence of extra gauge groups and extra matter, and importantly the path Nature chooses to resolve the hierarchy problem - is it supersymmetry or extra dimensions. Many models of new physics beyond the standard model contain a hidden sector which can be probed at the LHC. Additionally, the LHC will be a top factory and accurate measurements of the properties of the top and its rare decays will provide a window to new physics. Further, the LHC could shed light on the origin of neutralino masses if the new physics associated with their generation lies in the TeV region. Finally, the LHC is also a laboratory to test the hypothesis of TeV scale strings and D-brane models. An overview of these possibilities is presented in the spirit that it will serve as a companion to the Technical Design Reports (TDRs) by the particle detector groups ATLAS and CMS to facilitate the test of the new theoretical ideas at the LHC. Which of these ideas stands the test of the LHC data will govern the course of particle physics in the subsequent decades.